About

The Official Gazette is the official journal of the Republic of the Philippines.

This website, the national government portal, is updated regularly with speeches, reports, statements, press releases, and documents from the Office of the President and other departments of the Philippine government.

The Republic of the Philippines is a sovereign state in archipelagic Southeast Asia, with 7,107 islands spanning more than 300,000 square kilometers of territory. It is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines was named after Prince Philip (later King Philip II) of Spain, by the Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos during his 1542-1546 expedition to the islands.

The Philippines is a unitary presidential constitutional republic, with the President of the Philippines acting as both the head of state and the head of government. It proclaimed its independence from the Spanish Empire on June 12, 1898, following the culmination of the Philippine Revolution.

Check out The Philippines At A Glance for quick and easy access to information about the Philippine economy, poverty incidence, employment, infrastructure, education, healthcare, and the like, as well as some of the government’s most important programs.

Briefing Room

The Office of the Presidential Spokesperson (OPS) forms part of the national government’s communications arm. The OPS Secretary and Undersecretary speak on behalf of the President and are the primary sources of information regarding current issues and concerns related to the President.

The official chronicle, for the record, of the activities and undertakings of the Chief Executive on any given day.

This continues the tradition begun in the Official Gazette first, with the Official Month in Review from the Roxas to Quirino administrations, and then the Official Week in Review from the Magsaysay to Marcos administrations, until Martial Law. Eventually, press releases from the Aquino to Arroyo administrations, which served to chronicle the Chief Executive’s day, will be incorporated here.

National Government Portal – Edited at the Office of the President of the Philippines Under Commonwealth Act No. 638

Commissioner David vows to purge NAIA of corrupt Immigration men

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. vowed to purge the airport of corrupt immigration personnel as he relieved another BI employee at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for allegedly allowing the entry of a blacklisted foreigner.

David said he recalled Alden Yap Bait to the main office upon learning that the latter aided Taiwanese Wu Chun Yung in entering the country despite being in the bureau’s blacklist.

“There will be no letup in our efforts to remove the bad eggs in our our ranks,” the BI chief declared, adding that administrative and criminal charges will be filed against Bait if investigation finds him liable for the entry of the Taiwanese.

CCTV cameras at the airport allegedly caught footages of the Taiwanese being escorted by Bait upon his arrival at the NAIA last April 7.

Bait allegedly also motioned to the passenger to breeze through an unmanned immigration counter, which enabled him to evade inspection.

But the scheme did not work as the alien was spotted by immigration agents at the airport who immediately accosted him before he could reach the airport’s customs area.

David said he already directed Bait to explain in 72 hours why he should not be administratively charged and dismissed from the service in connection with the incident.

He added that Bait will be placed under preventive suspension pending investigation of his case by the bureau’s board of discipline.

David also revealed that customs personnel were also seen on TV assisting Wu upon his arrival and that their identities are still being determined.

Wu was blacklisted last March 13 after he was turned away by immigration officers at the Clark International Airport for being profiled as a public charge.

He first attempted to re-enter the country with a different passport last March 29 but was intercepted and turned back at the NAIA 3 terminal.

When interviewed after his arrest, the Taiwanese said he paid an undisclosed amount of money to a friend in Taiwan who claimed he could arrange his return to Manila without being detected by immigration authorities.